1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to plant stands, supports and baskets, and more particularly to water pond potted plant supports for use in water ponds for supporting water pond plants at selected depths in the water.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Conventional water ponds and water gardens are made by digging a hole into the ground to a depth of approximately 18 to 24 inches to accommodate various plants and in some cases approximately 36 inches to accommodate ornamental fish. In some pond installations, one or more shelves are formed in the side wall of the excavation for supporting particular types of water plants which are planted in pots, and then the excavation is lined with a flexible protective liner of rubber or other suitable material. Various varieties of plants contained in pots are placed on the bottom of the pond and on the shelf The shelf which supports the potted plants are typically 10" to 12" deep and 10" to 12" wide and are sometimes angled slightly rearward and downward from the front edge to prevent the pots from sliding off into the pond.
In other pond installations, the excavation does not include the shelf formed in the side wall, and a rigid plastic or rubber tub is placed into the excavation. While some types of plants contained in pots may be placed on the bottom of the tub, it is necessary to support those that require a more shallow depth by any means at hand. Commonly, bricks, boards, cinder blocks, or milk crates are placed on the bottom of the tub and may be stacked to achieve the recommended depth.
Common type of plants used in water ponds and water gardens include deep water plants and marginal plants or bog plants. Deep water plants such as lilies are recommended to be placed 8 to 16 inches below the water. These types of plants grow from a tuber and form an elongate plant that extends well above the water surface. It is recommended that tropical lilies be planted 12 to 16 inches below the water. Bog plants such as cattails, horsetails, and rushes live in the shallows of the pond and their pots are placed on the shelves 8 to 16 inches below the water or supported on stacked bricks, boards, cinder blocks, or milk crates to achieve the recommended depth. These type of plants may grow anywhere from a foot to about 8 feet and thus also extend well above the water surface.
When water plants are planted in the pots, the soil stops about 2 inches from the top of the pot and the top of the soil is covered with an approximately 1" layer of stones and/or gravel to prevent the soil from floating and to prevent fish from digging into the soil.
Because these upper portions of these types of water plants extend well above surface of the water and the pots in which they are planted are a relatively shallow distance below the water surface, they frequently will blow over or slide off the support shelf or supporting bricks, boards, cinder blocks, or milk crates. This also causes the stones and gravel to spill into the pond and allows the potting soil to become dislodged and float in the water. Thus, the caretaker must often wade into the water to place the plants back into the upright position, and to retrieve the stones and gravel. Sometimes it is necessary to repot the plant.
The water plants must also be removed from the pond in order to clean the liner or tub periodically. Because the conventional pot containers do not have a handle or bail, the caretaker must wade into the water and grasp the pot to remove the plants.
The makeshift height adjusting bricks, boards, cinder blocks, or milk crates, and other supports and stands having legs or sharp corners can puncture the pond liner and cause leaks. There are several patents which disclose various plant stands, none of which are suitable for use in a water pond.
Howell, U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,339 discloses a plant stand for nursery shrubs having a larger base ring and a vertically spaced smaller ring which prevents the plant from tipping over in strong winds. However, there is no provision nor suggestion of any means for placing a potted plant a selected distance beneath a water surface.
Glamos, U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,060 discloses a plant stand having metal rod legs which are driven into the ground and encircled by helically coiled wire with a circular ring at each end. However, this stand is narrower at the bottom than at the top and there is no provision nor suggestion of any means for placing a potted plant a selected distance beneath a water surface.
Hillestad, U.S. Pat. No. 5,179,799 discloses a demountable tomato plant stand having metal rods which are driven into the ground and a plurality of vertically spaced circular rings. However, this stand is narrower at the bottom than at the top and there is no provision nor suggestion of any means for placing a potted plant a selected distance beneath a water surface.
The following design patents disclose ornamental designs for potted plant stands which are formed of wire rings and rods, but have no provision for placing a potted plant a selected distance beneath a water surface: Des Pat. No. 245,136; Des Pat. No. 343,968; Des Pat. No. 350,081; Des Pat. No. 362,762; Des Pat. No. 365,700; Des Pat. No. 372,137; and Des Pat. No. 384,222.
The present invention is distinguished over the prior art in general, and these patents in particular by a water pond potted plant support for supporting a potted plant in a body of water contained in an enclosure. The support has at least one horizontal circular pot receiving ring member configured to encircle a pot containing a potted plant and support it in an upright position adjacent to a surface of the enclosure at a selected depth beneath the top surface of the body of water. In one embodiment, the support has a horizontal circular base ring supported on a horizontal surface of the enclosure, a lower circular ring smaller in diameter than the diameter of the base ring, an intermediate circular ring, and an upper circular ring smaller in diameter than the intermediate circular ring connected in vertically spaced relation by a plurality of rod elements secured therebetween in circumferentially spaced relation and a bail pivotally connected to the upper ring. A removable crossmember having a plurality of radially extending arms with downturned ends can be placed on either the lower ring or intermediate ring to support the potted plant and selectively position it relative to the horizontal surface and to the top surface of the body of water. In another embodiment the support has a crossmember with radially extending arms disposed a distance beneath the pot receiving ring and a pair of suspension rods connected to a side of the pot receiving ring that can be manually bent and shaped to engage a top edge of the enclosure to selectively position the potted plant adjacent to the enclosure side wall at a selected distance beneath the top surface of the body of water.